Car-coupling



(No Model.)

F. MGTAGGART. GAR COUPLING.

Patented June 14, 1898.

MWM g; 9-2.

"m: mm: s PETERS co. PHOTO-H1310" wnsumomu. b c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS MCTAGGART, OF IROQUOIS, SOUTH DAKOTA.

YCAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent nofeosmie, dated June 14,1898. Application filed January 10, I898. Serial No. 666,1L2. (N0model.)

T0 at whom it mag concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANCIS MOTAGGART, a citizen of the United States,residing at Iroquois, in the county of Kingsbury and State of SouthDakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inOar-Couplings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to car-couplings, and has reference to that classof couplings in which two gravity catch-hooks are employed, one on eachtwo cars to be coupled, and the hook on one car engaging with the frontend.

of the body of the coupling of the other car; and it consists in certainimprovements in construction which will be fully disclosed in thefollowing specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of thisspecificationyFigure 1 is a per-' spective showing the application of myinvention to one end of a freight-car; Fig. 2, a top plan view of thecoupling; Fig. 3, a longitudinal section on line 3 3, Fig. 2; Fig. 4: aperspective of the detachable wearing-plate, and Fig. 5 an enlarged sideelevation of the hook and its guard.

Reference being had to the drawings and the letters thereon, A indicatesthe body of adraw-bar, having a transverse bar B at its front end, withwhich the hook of another coupling engages. The side a of the drawbar iscut away at b to allow the hook to ride into place easily, and the upperand outer edge of the bar D is rounded at o to provide an easyengagement of. the hook and avoid jar in coupling. The draw-bar is openbetween its two sides to afford room for the hook attached thereto andthe hook of another draw-bar which engages its transverse bar B.

0 indicates the hook wearing-plate, which is detachably or removablysecured to the in side of the transverse bar B and receives the wear ofthe shoulder d of the hook and is renewed when it becomes worn toprovide a good biting-surface for the shoulder 61 of the hook. Thisplate is preferably made of cast steel and is supported in place on pinsor studs e e, which-engageholes f in the bar B.

D indicates the hook, which is secured to the sides of the draw-bar by atransverse pin g, upon which the hook swings vertically, and at the rearend of the hook a spring h is inserted, which serves to insure positiveand quick action of the hook in coupling. The spring also serves to holdor keep the hook in engagement with an adjacent draw-bar until it israised by an attendant to uncouple the cars. Thehook is rounded on itsinner side att'to cause a ready guiding action of the hook as it engageswith another and cause the opposing hook to be directed into positionfor engagementwith the bar B of the draw-bar, and the hook is furtherrounded on its lower front end at k to cause it to ride up and over therounded portion 0 of the bar I).

On the inside of the hook is secured a rightangled plate E, over whichthe hook of an adjacent car-rests and which serves to raise said hookout of engagement with the draw-bar, so that in raising one hook by themeans employed for the purpose both hooks are raised simultaneously anddisengaged from the ends of the draw-bars and uncoupled.

F indicates an armsecured to the upper side of the hook, near its frontend,and is provided with an upper hole or opening Z and a lower openingm, with either of which a hook Gr engages, and the hook is secured to achain 72, which engages with the arm 19 of a crankshaft H and also witha revoluble rod I,which extends to the top of a car, so that a car maybe u lCoupled by either means.

The crank-shaft is secured to the end of the car by suitable bearings gL and is provided with an arm 4 at each end, set at an angle tocounterbalance the arm pand thus neutral ize its weight in raising thehookD. The hook may be retained in its raised position for shunting inmaking up trains or shifting cars about a yard when coupling of cars isnot desired,and the arms 4" may be locked or secured in any desiredposition by turn-buttons s on the sides of the car. 7

By the construction of crankshaft shown the hook D may be raised fromeither side of the car, and when raised by the rod I the hook is securedby the ratchet-wheel t on the rod and the pawl or dog it on the car.

The body of the hook G is provided with a loop or eye '0, with which thechain engages, an eye 10, with which the free end of the tongue memberengages, and is connected to the body of the hook at its rear end by aneye 0, which engages with an eye 11;, and sur rounding the hook is aguard to prevent the tongue becoming accidentally detached.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is 1. Aear-coupling having a transverse bar at its front end and vertical sidesextending above said end, the transverse bar rounded at c and the sidecut away at I), and a Wearing-plate detachably applied to the front endon the inside thereof, in combination with a hook provided with arounded inner and a rounded under side and a right-angled plate attachedto the inner side of the hook.

O. J. KRUEGER, LEWIS MoTAeeART.

